On the eve of the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Buick unveiled a low-slung concept car that suggests a renewed focus on performance in future production models. The Buick Avista Concept is a rear-wheel-drive 2+2 hardtop coupe that wears Buick’s typically elegant styling cues over some fairly aggressive long-hood/short-deck proportions.

Buick Avista Concept

And, the Avista Concept has the muscle to back up its looks: It’s powered by a 400-horsepower twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 hooked to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The Avista doesn’t break much ground from a technological standpoint—many of its features, such as Active Fuel Management cylinder deactivation, Stop/Start technology, Magnetic Ride Control, and noise-cancellation technology, are already available on production GM vehicles.

The Avista is primarily a styling exercise—in addition to its flashy 20-inch wheels and deep Dark Sapphire Jewel paint, it takes Buick’s existing styling cues and injects them with a bit more drama. Highlights include a grille with a new winged tri-shield insignia set against a mesh background, an evolution of Buick’s signature front-fender ports, and wing-shaped headlights and taillights with ‘soft-curtain” elements for a 3D “halo” effect. The interior wears exposed carbon-fiber and aluminum accents and a widescreen touchscreen display that hints at a future version of Buick’s IntelliLink system.

CG Says:

It’s doubtful that you’ll see anything quite as radical as the Avista Concept in Buick showrooms anytime soon, but it’s highly likely that individual Avista design elements—the headlight- and taillight shapes, the winged Buick insignia and mesh grille, the front-fender vents, the swoopy dashboard layout—will find their way on future production Buicks. The Avista also suggests that GM is looking to bring a more overt performance character to future Buicks while maintaining the brand’s understated elegance.